By Sean Devers

A DESTRUCTIVE unbeaten 80 from Chadwick Walton led four-time champions Trinbago Knight Riders to their fifth CPL final by beating the Guyana Amazon Warriors for the 11th consecutive time in the tournament’s 11-year history with a crushing seven-wicket win last night in front of another sold-out crowd at the Providence Stadium.
Controlled bowling by the TKR restricted the Warriors to 166-7, as only Saim Ayub, who demonstrated the type of consistency lacking among the Warriors batters with another fluent 49 from 39 balls, peppered with four fours and a six, as he fell a run short of the fourth fifty in this tournament.

But only the burly Azam Khan, whose 36 lasted 27 balls, and included three fours and a six, reached 20.
TKR, without an ill Sunil Narine, limited the Warriors to a below-par score, as pacer Terrence Hinds (2-32), and left-arm back-of-the-hand spinner Waqar Salamkheil (2-28) were the main wicket-takers for TKR, who needed to score at a required rate of 8.35, reached 167-3.
Man-of-the-Match Walton smashed six fours and four sixes in his unbeaten 80 from 57 balls.
Walton shared in fifty stands with Nicholas Pooran (33) and Kieron Pollard (23), as Dwaine Pretorius had 2-36.
Mark Deyal and Walton added 41 in 4.1 overs, with Deyal stroking Romario Shepherd for an imperious cover-driven boundary, and lofted Pretorius for six. And when Walton clipped Shamar Joseph off his legs for four, the partisan crowd fell dead silent.

Tahir had Deyal LBW for 15, with a four and a six, before Walton edged two fortuitous boundaries from Joseph, who bowled with pace; the second one being dropped by a leaping Khan.
After the six power-play overs, TKR were 56-1, as Pooran hit a rapid 33 from 24 balls, with two fours and two sixes, as the 50 stand came up in 42 balls, while after 10 overs, TKR were 80-1, before Pooran was removed at 92-2, but Walton kept going, and reached his 50 from 44 balls with four fours and two sixes.
Pollard clobbered two fours and six in a quick-fire 23, and added 50 with Walton from 33 balls with two fours and three sixes before he departed at 158-3. But, by then, the supposedly diehard Warriors were walking on their team, as Walton put the finishing touches on the emphatic win with 11 balls to spare.
Warriors will hope to beat defending Champions Jamaica, tomorrow, to book a return clash with TKR on Sunday.

Knight Riders invited the Warriors to bat on a track with some ‘pacer and carry’ and fast outfield Saim Ayub going with an inside edge for four, Ali Khan after Andrew Russell had tested Ayub with a couple of quick short balls.

The left-handed Ayub pulled Russell effortlessly for six, before opening face when Khan bowled for a boundary to third, and another capacity crowd roared its approval.
Akeil Hossein was introduced in the fifth over, and the burly sweep for four, while Terrence Hinds and Chadwick Walton collided as Smith hit the ball miles into the night sky off Hinds on 11.

Ayub slashed Hinds for four, Ayub worked Hossein for two and benefitted from four overthrows, while Smith swung and got an inside for four off Hossein, after six power-play overs produced 42.

Smith, who struggled to score freely in 18-ball 15 with two fours, lofted Hossein to deep mid-wicket as his luck ran out to leave the Warriors on 53-1 after seven overs.
DJ Bravo replaced Khan, and produced a perfect delivery, which Ayub just managed to edge for four, as the Warriors’ luck continued, but not for long, as Shai Hope (2) tried to go big, and hit Waqar Salamkheil to Walton at long-on, in the ninth over with the score on 62-2.
After 10 overs, the Warriors were 69-2, as the plus-size Azam Khan joined Ayub, and pulled Salamkheil for a brutal boundary.
Khan smashed Salamkheil for four before the elegant 21-year-old Ayub was bowled by the left-arm back-of-the-hand bowler, when one short of what would have been his fourth fifty at 90-3.

Shimron Hetmyer’s failures continued when he was run out for a duck to leave the Warriors on 91-4, and the vocal crowd was silenced.
Khan deposited Salamkheil for a massive six, and swept him fine for four, before thumping Hinds for four, and the horn-blowing and flag-waving fans were back on their feet, and dancing in the stands as was posted in 15 overs.

But with the score on 116-5 in 16 overs, Hinds ended the Azam Khan show when the Pakistani Keeper edged him to Nicholas Pooran behind the stumps.
Dwaine Pretorius clobbered Hosein for a mighty six, and hit Ali Khan over the head of the Keeper for a boundary.
The USA pacer had the last laugh when he scattered Pretorius’ stumps after he had made 15 at 135-6 in the 18th over.
Kevlon Anderson joined Romario Shepherd, who fired up the crowd with a couple of fours and a six in 16 from just six balls, before chasing a ball and edging a catch to the Keeper, as Umpire Deighton Butler amusingly signalled a wide. Gudakesh Motie smashed two sixes and a four in the last over, as Ali Khan leaked 18 runs as Motie ended unbeaten on 19 from seven balls.
TKR, were without Sunil Narine, who is unwell.